Stacking rack for pallets



' March 1, 19 60 E. A. SEIZ smcxmc RACK FOR PALLETS Filed 001;. 14, 1958 I INVENTOR: EDWARD A. SEIZ United States Patent 2,926,792 STACKING RACK FOR PALLETS Edward A. Seiz,

dustries, Inc., vania Application October 14, 1958, Serial No. 767,150

Claims. (Cl. 211-448) Lansdale, Pa., assignor to Hatfield In- Hatfield, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylloading of the pallet, and/or are cumbersome and space-' consuming when knocked-down for storing.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a stacking rack which has none of the disadvantages listed above.

The rack of the present invention is of simple construction, but is designed for assembly into a sturdy and rigid assembly capable of supporting successive loaded pallets stacked thereon.

The present invention also provides an assembly which is simply and effectively locked in assembled condition and is not subject to unlocking by vibration or normal impacts of handling.

The present invention also provides a stacking rack assembly which is simply and expeditiously disassembled and is capable of being stored compactly in a limited space.

The invention also provides improved structural rigidity in the assembled rack.

All of the objects of the present invention are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of an assembled stacking rack mounted on a pallet;

Fig. 2 is a detached view of one element of the assembly showing that it stands upright without additional support;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the element shown in Fig. 2 with portions broken away and showing certain structural features thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the interlock between the elements of the assembly;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in endelevation showing the first step in the mounting of the assembly on a pallet.

Referring to Fig. l, the stacking rack assembly 10 comprises two identical support elements 11, each having a cross brace 12 connected thereto and extending into locking engagement with the other support element. The support elements 11 are adapted to be mounted on a standard pallet 15, which consists of longitudinal rails 16 mounting and supporting upper and lower series of boards 17 disposed transversely thereof and constituting the loading surface of the pallet. It is noted that the support members 11 are identical in form and it is therefore unnecessary to differentiate between right hand and left hand members and the like.

The support elements 11 comprise inverted U-shaped frames formed by uprights 21 and 22 connected across their top by a pair of cross pieces 23 and 24 respectively. Preferably, the uprights 21 and 22 and the upper cross pieces 23 are angle irons and the cross piece 24 is fiat stock, all interconnected, for example by welding. Foot members 25 and 26 are secured to the uprights 21 and 22 respectively at a point spaced upwardly from the lower terminus of the uprights and extended perpendicular therefrom to overlie the end board 17 of the pallet. The free ends of the foot plates are formed with downturned toe flanges 27 and 28 respectively to engage behind the inner edge of the board 17 and prevent outward longitudinal displacement of the support element 11 when engaged thereon. Reinforcing webs 29 and 3t) are provided to provide substantial rigidity to the foot plates. The lower terminal portions 33 and 34 of the uprights 21 and 22 engage over the corners of the pallet 15 to prevent inward displacement of the support element 11 relative to the pallet.

In accordance with the invention, the spacing between the terminal portions 33 and 34 is slightly less than the length of the end board 17, as shown in Fig. 6, so that when the support element 11 is rested on the end of the pallet with the terminal portion 34 engaged over the corner thereof, the terminal portion 33 rests on the top of the board 17. In order to engage the support element 11 on the pallet, it is necessary to spread the up rights 21 and 22 slightly to engage both terminal portions 33 and 34 over the respective corners of the pallet- This spreading of the uprights 21 and 22 places the cross pieces 24 under tension and contributes substantially to the rigidity of the suport member 11 when mounted on the pallet.

Since the toe elements 27 and 28 correspond approximately to the height of the terminal portions 33 and 34, a firm base is provided to mount the support elements 11 in upright position on a flat surface. The possibility of tipping of the upright is avoided inasmuch as the center of gravity of the support element 11. overlies the base formed by the toe portions 27 and 28 and terminal portions 33 and 34. When engaged on the pallet, the base firmly retains the support element against lateral displacement, and the foot portions 25 and 26 prevent tilting.

In accordance with the invention, displaceable cross braces 12 are mounted between the upper portions of the support members 11 to provide lateral support and substantial rigidity to the stacking rack assembly. In the illustrated embodiment, each cross brace 12 is hinged at one end 51 to the upright 22 and is free to swing between an outer limit position 12a perpendicular to the support member 11 and an inner limit position 12b substantially parallel to the support member 11 (see Fig. 2). When in its outer limit position, the free end of the cross brace 12 is adapted to lock in a latch on the upright 21 of the other support member 11. In the present instance, the cross braces 12 areofchannel form with flanges 61 and web 62, and as shown in Fig. 3, the hinge comprises a pin 40 mounted at the end 51 of the brace, for example by welding as indicated at 41. The hinge pin is journalled in a bracket 42 which in the present instance comprises a channel element snugly receiving the cross brace 12 and having pin-receiving apertures 52 in its flanges 53. The snug fit of the brace 12 in the channel element 42 provides substantial rigidity to the cross brace when it is in its extended position and limits its outward displacement to the perpendicular disposition shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The hinge affords swinging movement of the brace against the support element -other element.

1 storage, the footplateZS is disposed between the cross example welded thereto as indicated at 46, which serves as a latch element. The keeper for the latchelement 45 consists of a channelsection 47 secured to the upright 21 and having flanges 54 adapted to snugly receive the brace 12 as shown in Fig, 4. The pin 45 engages behind the channel element 47 and a locking element 48 is provided to retain the pin securely behind the keeper 47. As

shown in Fig. 4, the locking element 48 consists of a bar pinned as indicated at 49 to the channel 21 at an off-center position. The off-center position insures a greater length of the-bar at one side of the pin which serves to bias the bar against the pin 45 whenassembled. The bias of the over-balanced bar 48 engages the pin 45 firmly against the upright 21 behind the keeper 47 and the snug reception of the brace 12 in the keeper 47 produces a rigid interlock between the support member 11 and the free end 55 of the brace 12. Thus, when the rack is assembled, it is proof against inadverent disassembly, and is assured of substantial rigidity.

Where it is desired to use the stacking rack assemblies with pallets of varying length, it may be desired to latch the braces 12 at both ends to the support members 11 instead of hingedly mounting the brace 12 at one end on the support member. In this case, the hinge pin 40 may 'serve as a latch element such as shown at 45 and the hinge bracket 42 may be replaced by a keeper 47 and locking element 48.

The rigid assembly provided by the present invention permits the pallet to be loaded after the stacking rack is in place. Since the braces 12 are adjacent the upper ends of the elements 11, a substantial free space is provided for access from the sides, and in like manner, the U-shaped form of the elements 11 provide access from the ends. The rectangular form of the rack also permits the pallets to be loaded from the top without interference with the rack. Thus, the rack of the present invention provides greater flexibility and access in loading the pallet. Furthermore, the superstructure of the rack does not project over the loading area of the pallet except at the very upper extremity of the rack so that substantially no loading space is lost by the use of the rack of the present invention.

Assembly and disassembly of the rack is a simple procedure and may be performed by a single man. To disassemble the rack, the locking elements 48 are displaced and the braces 12 are swung to their closed limit position against the support elements 11. By reason of the construction at the base of the support elements 11, one will remain upright while the worker handles the other.

The construction also affords ready stacking of the elements since the base of one element 11 neatly supports the top of the other element and the top of the one element neatly receives thebase or foot members of the When the elements 11 are stacked for piece 23 and the keeper'47 so that the toe portion 27 bears against the upright 22. In'likemanner, the foot plate 26 passes between the cross piece 23 and the hinge bracket 42, and the toe portion 28 rests against the upright 21. This provides a compact arrangement which enables a substantial number of knocked-down assemblies to be stacked on a pallet, or in a storage area, one upon the other without substantial danger of the stack falling 1 over.

The assembly of the stacking rack is likewise a oneman operation. The nested pair of support elements 11 the pallet. The cross braces 12 are then swung into their outer limit position, one of the elements being tilted to aiiord passage of the braces past one another without interference. The free ends of the braces are then latched and locked in place by the smaller end of the locking bar 48 so that the large end of the bar provides a bias insuring locking engagement. When the rack is assembled in this manner, a sturdy and rigid support is provided to enable stacking of subsequent pallets thereon. It is noted that the support elements 11 are in line with the end of the pallets so that the fork truck operator doing the stacking may readily determine when the pallets are properly stacked in vertical alignment. The angle form of the cross pieces 23 provides a proper supporting surface for the subsequent pallets.

While a particular embodiment has been herein illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure, but changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the following claims.

1 claim:

1, A stacking rack assembly for a storage pallet comprising a plurality of spaced parallel transverse boards, said rack comprising a pair of identical inverted U-shaped support elements, each adapted to overlie and engage the opposite ends of one end board of said pallet, each support element having a pair of vertically spaced horizontal cross pieces at its upper extremity and a pair of depending uprights each having a foot plate extending perpendicularly therefrom adjacentits lower end to overlie said end board at its end, and a toe portion depending from said foot plate to engage behind the inner edge of said end board, said foot plate adapted to disengage said board by simple upward displacement, angulartermin-al portions on said upright depending below said foot plate and adapted to engage over the corners of the pallet, said terminal portion corresponding in height to the height of said toe portion whereby said support element stands vertically independently; said terminal portions being normally spaced apart a distance less than the length of said end board whereby'said uprights when engaged on the pallet are 'flexed apart to place'tensile stress on the lower of said pair of cross pieces, and cross braces perpendicular to and spanning between said support elements adjacent their upper endsto overlie the side edges of the pallet, and connecting means to connect each of said cross braces at each end to saidsupport elements, said connecting means affording displacement of said cross braces into a position substantially parallel to said support elements upon disassembly of said rack.

2. A stacking rack assembly according to claim 1 wherein each cross brace is hinged at one end to one support element for pivotal movement about a vertical axis and releasably latched at the other end'to the other support element.

3. Astackingassembly for the storage pallet comprising a plurality of spaced parallel transverse boards, said rack comprising a. pair of identical inverted U-shaped support elements adapted to engage the opposite ends of said pallet, each support element having at least one cross piece at its upper extremity and a pair of depending uprights to engage the corners of the pallet, and cross braces perpendicular to and spanningbetween said support elements adjacent their upper ends to overlie the side edges of the pallet, and connecting means to connect each of said cross braces at each end to said support elements, said connecting means including a hinge affordingpivotal displacement of said cross braces into a position substantially parallel to said support elements upon disassembly of said rack, each said cross brace comprising a channel iron having a pin welded to one end parallel to the web of said iron and projecting above and below the upper and lower flanges thereof respectively to constitute the hinge pin of said hinge, said connectingmeansincluding a channel section snugly receiving said cross brace and, having apertures in the flangesthereof receiving the projecting portions of said pin to hingedly mount the same.

4. A stacking rack assembly for a storage pallet comprising a plurality of spaced parallel transverse boards, said rack comprising a pair of identical inverted U-shaped support elements adapted to engage the opposite ends of said pallet, each support element having at least one cross piece at its upper extremity and a pair of depending uprights to engage the corners of the pallet, cross braces perpendicular to and spanning between said support elements adjacent their upper ends to overlie the side edges of the pallet, each said cross brace comprising a channel iron having a pin welded to said iron adjacent one end parallel to the web and projecting above and below the upper and lower flanges thereof respectively, and connecting means at said one end releasably latching said cross brace to said support element comprising a keeper of channel form snugly receiving said channel iron cross brace, the pin of said cross brace engaging behind 6 r the flanges of said keeper, and a locking element open able to lock said pin in latching engagement with said keeper.

5. An assembly according to claim 4 wherein said loclring element comprises a bar pivoted off center on a horizontal pivot parallel to said cross brace and spaced outwardly from the web of said keeper, said bar having its short end projecting angularly downward into engagement with said pin whereby its long end operates to bias said short end against said pin,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

